Evacuation of stranded Everest trekkers set to wrap up on Tuesday

Efforts to evacuate more than 200 trekkers still stranded near the eastern face of Mount Everest in Tibet are expected to wrap up on Tuesday, a source familiar with the situation said, after snowstorms tore across western China.

Outdoor enthusiasts have flocked to China's rugged interior since an eight-day holiday began on October 1, but a sudden blizzard over the weekend caught offguard hundreds of hikers hoping to catch a glimpse of Everest's Kangshung face.

Their evacuation, which began on Monday, should be completed by Tuesday, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity in the absence of authorisation to speak to media on the matter. Tibet's regional government had no immediate comment.

Snow fell through Saturday in the Karma valley at an average altitude of 4,200 m. On Sunday, rescuers guided to safety some 350 other hikers stranded in Tibet's remote Karma valley.

"Thankfully, some people ahead of us were breaking trail, leaving footprints we could follow - that made it a little easier," said Eric Wen, 41, adding that he trudged through 19 km, most of it heavy snow, to leave the valley. "Otherwise, it would've been impossible for us to make it out on our own."

Regional authorities helped Wen and others on his expedition reach the Tibetan capital of Lhasa by Monday.

First explored by Western travellers a century ago, the valley is relatively pristine. In contrast to the arid north face of the world's highest mountain, it is swathed in lush vegetation and untouched alpine forests fed by glacier melt.

North of Tibet, one trekker died of hypothermia and acute mountain sickness after being stranded by snowstorms on Sunday in a gully in the Qilian Mountains on the border of the western provinces of Qinghai and Gansu.

By Monday evening, 213 in the Qilian area were pulled to safety, China Central Television (CCTV) said on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, authorities further west in Xinjiang suspended hiking and camping in the lake district of Kanas in the Altai mountains.

On Sunday, police patrolling the area had encountered a group of 16 hikers, one of whom, showing symptoms of hypothermia and unable to move, was taken to hospital and is now in stable condition, CCTV said.

Police have so far convinced more than 300 hikers heading for the area to turn back. On Tuesday, the broadcaster said highways had been cleared of dangerous ice and snow that had blanketed them over the weekend, stranding tourist vehicles.